SC reserved seats ruling can’t be implemented: NA speaker

National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq has urged the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) to allocate reserve seats in accordance with the amended Election Commission Act.

In a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Sikandar Sultan Raja, the speaker informed that the allocation of reserve seats could not be changed after the amendments in the Elections Act.

The letter stated that as the Election Act was effective prior to the Supreme Court’s order, and the apex court’s decision could not be implemented.

Furthermore, the letter mentioned that independent candidates who win elections and join any political party would not be allowed to change the party.

The amended act has been in effect since 2017, and it is the constitutional and legal responsibility of the ECP to enforce the law, the letter added.

The letter has also been sent to the Election Commissioners and other members.

On July 12, a thirteen-member larger bench of the SC declared in its ruling that Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) is a registered political party in the country and is eligible for reserve seats.

On July 12, a 13-member bench of the top court, headed by Chief Justice Qazi Faez Isa, ruled that the PTI is eligible for the allocation of reserved seats, dealing a major setback to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s ruling coalition.

Justice Mansoor Ali Shah announced the 8-5 majority verdict, setting aside the Peshawar High Court’s (PHC) order wherein it had upheld the Election Commission of Pakistan’s (ECP) decision denying the reserved seats to the SIC.

Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, Justice Jamal Mandokhail, Justice Naeem Afghan, Justice Yahya Afridi, and Justice Ameenuddin Khan opposed the majority decision.